Goose in a Bottle?

It’s been a lovely few days for some reason I can’t quite pinpoint, but perhaps it’s because I feel like Iam growing.

I often joke with E’s therapists how she tends to plateau and then all of a sudden she will do 3 new things at once. Perhaps, I am going through my own growth spurt.

How am I growing? Well, let me explain. I realize this will come as a shock to some of you, but I haven’t really ever been good about sharing my feelings. I tend to bottle and then harbor and then communicate only bits and pieces of what I am feeling. Leaving me mildly satisfied and slightly resentful at times. Except here. Here I am shockingly honest, even surprising myself. As I process this, I think it must come from always trying to be strong, to not let vulnerabilities become cracks in the foundation where the house comes tumbling down. Now, 8 months into my blogging career, I am finding strength in sharing and being vulnerable.

This is perhaps my goose in a bottle. My vulnerabilities have become my strengths. Strength allowing me to more clearly say and articulate to KSP, my family and myself how I feel and why I feel it. Thus freeing me from the sense of dissatisfaction and resentment.

If you had a goose in a bottle and you couldn’t break the bottle, how would you get it out?

On Sunday, I was given a lovely gift by a fellow blogger/virtual friend who I very much admire in her own writings, The Lucky Mom. She showed up on my blog and surprised me with the Versatile Blogger Award. It was totally unexpected and yet so pleasing to be thought of at all, and to be thought of as “Versatile.” Being Versatile, allows me to think about things, all things in a myriad of ways and not get trapped by one way to get that goose out of the bottle. That something that I used to see as a negative or even a detriment to my being, can now be the rope I use to pull myself upward and onward.

So today, I celebrate my award and getting my goose out of it’s bottle.

In the spirit of the award and my newly freed goose, I must follow these rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.

1. I did not fly or ski for the first time until I was 17. I have now traveled all over the world and skiied, albeit not gracefully, on some of the hardest mountains in the US.

2. I am the oldest of 4 girls…yep, 3 sisters.

3. My middle name, Marchelle, is my mom’s first name. Her middle name is Grace, her mom’s name (my Grandma). And E’s middle name is Grace in honor of my grandma and Scott’s grandma, both named Grace.

4. I speak Japanese. It was my major in college and I lived there for 2 years after college teaching English ( I had never been to Japan before I landed there to live.)

5. I have 7 friends from childhood who I still talk to all the time and see once a year, we are coined “The Great 8.” They are my Ya Yas.

6. I secretly want to be a singer but am only good enough for living room sing alongs, Karaoke Bars and the shower.

7. My first job was as a hostess in a restaurant at 14, The Golden Skillet, and I subsequently worked in restaurants for 7 years after, paid for college as a waitress and met my first husband who was my manager.

The rest you know or have and will come to know as you spend time with me on this journey. This is the me that brought me here to this day. To my Q and E, my KSP, my family, friends, and now all of you.

I want to be anything but silently grateful for this award. L/THE LUCKY MOM, thank you! I am honored and so very excited you bestowed this award on me. You have truly made today, ‘mynewfavoriteday.’

And for all of you, “How would get your goose out of the bottle?”

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About Shannon Pruitt from 'Mynewfavoriteday'

Welcome to 'mynewfavoriteday. This space is about gratitude and connecting through being open, vulnerable and real. I hope you will enjoy my take on motivation, inspiration and advocacy and will take the opportunity to tell me of your own thoughts and stories.
Why I started 'mynewfavoriteday.'
I am a childhood surviving, divorced, now happily married, IVF (and now natural pregnancy) success story, working mother of 2 amazing babies who were born 12 weeks premature. As life often seems to surprise you when you least expect it, we added another sweet baby girl M to our family in July of 2013. While our angel minis, Q and E are now 7 years old, our son, Q, has thrived while our daughter, E, has had a much more difficult journey. She is considered special needs and in September of 2012 was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. And so, as she has grown, so do we as individuals and as family. How to help her, how to celebrate our differences while allowing ourselves to cope with the challenges that we never knew to expect. Thus, while much of this blog is based on our experiences (good and not-so-good), it is also based on how we must not let ourselves become victims of our circumstances but rather advocate in our own lives.
A little bit about me and who I am.
In my professional life I am a marketer in the Entertainment Industry; however, ‘mynewfavoriteday,’ was not born of entertainment or marketing but rather as a pathway to help myself and others as we try to define who we are as parents, family members, spouses, friends, colleagues and people. I believe in never judging a book by its cover. Every cover is different, and no matter what your cover looks like, you never know how someone's book is written. Like mine. From the outside, you might never know what truly makes me who I am or what I believe. This blog explores the pages on the inside of my book. My vulnerabilities, fears, happiness, and all my triggers through the lens of being grateful for all the amazing blessings I know I have received but sometimes forget in the challenges of daily life.
Thanks again for dropping by. I hope you will come back, subscribe, comment, share, and/or just hang out and be inspired or motivated to make each day for yourself or someone else 'anewfavoriteday.' By being here, you have certainly helped to make it mine.
xo,
Shannon

I, too, have found my voice through my blog. It’s liberating and cathartic to be able to share so openly. But the greatest gift has been the friendships I have forged on this journey. Thank you for being among that number!

About Me

My name is Shannon Pruitt and I am so grateful you have joined me here at 'mynewfavoriteday.' It is my hope that as you spend time on this blog, you will take the following reminders with you that will make you want to come back, subscribe, comment, and share 'mynewfavoriteday.' 1) Be "present" and recognize moments in your life so that moments don't pass you by and you can truly appreciate all you have in each day. 2) Count your blessings. Be grateful for family, friends, pets, things, a roof over your head, food to eat, your ability to laugh, or walk, or hear, or see. Reminding yourself of these things can be the first step in making each day 'yournewfavoriteday.' 3) Know you are not alone. While our experiences may be different the emotions that we experience whenever we struggle or are challenged are the same for they are the core human emotions of sadness, fear, loneliness, and yet we are all searching for the same emotions as well of hope, love, happiness, joy and peace. At 'mynewfavoriteday' you are never alone and you never know what you might find from my posts or other's comments that just might help you find a little more of those core emotions we all look for. 4) Use your voice. Remember you are your own best advocate and by using your voice you may inspire others or be inspired, so go ahead and speak up. 5) Be grateful. For each breath, for the opportunity to live. Be motivated and inspired that you have the chance to just be.

I hope today and everyday is 'yournewfavoriteday' and I thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts, stories and inspiring words with me as it helps me beyond words. Sincerely, Shannon